Things Visible and Invisible
by MuggleBeene
Summary: Rolf Scamander is in training to be an Invisible, part of a secret group that does things Aurors only wish they could do. After a botched mission he has one more chance to make the squad, but his assignment provides more than a few surprises. Part of the Professor Muggle story series.
1. Improvise, Adapt, Survive and Succeed

**Improvise, Adapt, Survive and Succeed**

_10 March, 2000_

"What's your name?"

"Rolf. Rolf Scamander."

"No it isn't. Not no more. You don't get a name unless I give you one, and you ain't got one. Invisibles ain't got no names. Now, if you wanna get out of here and do your job you'd better start thinking less like Rolf and more like an Invisible, you got that? Go."

The silvery form of the hyena Patronus disappeared, returning the light in the small crumbling shack to its previous near-darkness. The only sound that could be heard was Rolf's ragged breaths. He crouched down next to the decrepit remains of a wardrobe and clutched his wand tightly. If he was going to accomplish his mission, if he was going to pass, he had to stop thinking like an Auror and more like an Invisible. He closed his eyes for a moment to remember the mission particulars.

_Squib girl approximately six years old. Kidnapped by dark wizards who were planning some sort of unfathomable ritual that would leave only bits of flesh behind. Two person Invisibles group, him and his instructor. No backup. Less than twenty minutes to midnight and the ritual. Deep in the Bulgarian mountains, an abandoned village, out of British Auror jurisdiction. _

Gathering all of his energy Rolf ran over to the window, jumped through and landed in the snow, rolling once until he was up on his feet, wand extended. The two wizards stood in dark red robes in the middle of a small clearing, the bound little girl on a stone table between them. One wizard held a knife close to the girl.

_Incarcerous!_

The spell shot out of Rolf's wand and struck the wizard holding the knife directly in the chest, but it did not have the effect it should have. Instead of binding the wizard with silvery ropes the tendrils sloughed off the man like water. The second wizard sent a killing curse towards Rolf but he had moved out of the way as if by instinct.

The chain of events that followed was over in a matter of seconds, but later on Rolf played it out over and over in his head. The wizard with the knife plunged it down into the chest of the little girl, and then brought it down again rapidly as her scream filled the air. The second wizard began to cast another curse but was cut down with a killing curse from outside the clearing. Rolf's _Avada Kedavra_ hit the wizard with the knife square in the face, sending him down instantly. After that Rolf stood silently, unable to move as Instructor moved quickly towards the girl.

When he could move again he walked with shaking steps towards the stone table. "Is she…"

"No. I've stopped it for now but she's gonna need a Healer. Dammit, you're not an Auror, boy! Incarcerous? We'll have words when I get back."

Instructor bundled the girl in his arms, wrapped his robe around her and Apparated away quickly.

-ooo-

In a nondescript little office park in a nondescript part of London there sits a small building. Nobody goes there; in fact, nobody ever remembers ever seeing anyone go in or out of the building. Everyone that passes just assumes it was one of those companies that started up and then never went anywhere. They all pass by it and never give it a second glance, exactly as the Invisibles prefer. Muggles, the non-magical folk, just see it as a part of the landscape. Most wizards and witches think of it the same way. Only those who know exactly what it is know where to find the building.

Rolf Scamander knew where the building was as he sat in his little dormitory room on the bed with his head in his hands. His first mission as an Invisible had just completed and it was a complete, utter failure. The Spartan sparseness of the room did him no favors, as the grey walls were completely bare, the flat metal bed held only a thin mattress and only a faint light emanated from the ceiling.

"Scamander! Front and center!"

With a heavy sigh Rolf stood up, straightened his shoulders and walked into the center room. Instructor stood there behind a desk with a woman only known as Prime. As they stood there silently Rolf began going through his training as a mental exercise to quell his emotions.

_Instructor is a male of approximately sixty years, grey hair, green eyes and speaks with a less-than-posh accent which betrays his working-class Muggleborn origins. Prime is a female of approximately forty years, blonde hair and blue eyes and…_

"Scamander." Instructor conjured a chair in front of the desk. "Sit."

Rolf sat down quickly and silently. His heart was beating faster than a Snitch's wings.

Prime opened a folder. "Rolf Scamander. Grandson of Newt Scamander, former Headmaster of Hogwarts. Son of Triturus and Emily Scamander. Educated in various magical institutions throughout the continent. No fixed permanent address. Parents currently residing in Estonia for the last six months. Received Auror-level qualifications, attended initial Auror training in Ireland but did not finish. Recruited as an Invisible, completed the Wizard's Oath required of all Invisibles candidates, top of the class."

She closed the folder and looked him coldly in the eye. Rolf sat there for what seemed like an eternity, unable to even swallow.

"Scamander." She shook her head. "Remind us once again why you did not finish Auror training?"

The swallow before speaking almost made Rolf's throat bulge. "Difference of opinion."

"Differences of opinion." Prime nodded. "And what were those differences?" She saw him glance at the file. "Yes, I know it's in there but I want to hear it from you."

"Procedure, Prime." He took a deep breath. "Aurors are bound by proper procedure in the apprehension of suspects. Too much procedure. When dealing with a lethal individual or questioning a suspect more direct methods will produce the desired result."

"Yes." Prime nodded. "And who are the Invisibles?"

Rolf took a deep breath. "The Invisibles are a special force that has complete freedom to accomplish tasks beyond what the Aurors can do by law. We are the last line of defense and often the first line of offence against the worst elements of society. We are funded by the Ministry but are not recognized through any official channels. We do not exist. We are Invisible to society. Since we are invisible we are not bound by Ministry laws."

"Exactly!" Instructor slammed his hand on the desk. "So why the bloody hell did you use Incarcerous? Stop thinking like a goddamned Auror, boy! We're. Not. Fucking. Aurors!"

It was too much. Rolf felt everything build up inside him until he couldn't contain it any longer. "I could have hit the girl, ok? If I missed with the killing curse I could have hit the girl!"

Prime leaned over the desk and steepled her hands. "No spell-deflecting robes can withstand a killing curse. You took a chance. We don't take chances. Maybe we took too big of a chance accepting you. Trainee." As the words hung in the air Prime looked over to Instructor. "But it wasn't a total loss. Those two are dead. The Ministry has two less dark wizards on their list." She moved the chair back, picked up the folder and left the room.

Rolf stared at the floor, his stomach in his mouth. He knew it was the moment he'd been dreading, the moment that he was forever turned out of the Invisibles, the only place where he felt as if he was truly making a difference.

"Scamander." Instructor sat on the edge of the desk in front of him. "Look at me, boy." He gave Rolf a small envelope. "You've got two weeks to get your head clear. I can't have you out there like this. Remember, they don't always go this well. The girl will live. Won't make the papers, we fixed that. Besides, what Ministry official wants the world to know that dark wizards kidnapped his illegitimate squib kid? We got her back, there's no Auror paperwork that was mandatory and filed so the public can see, mission accomplished. I'm sure they'll get her a cute little eye patch."

"Eye patch?" Rolf's head snapped up sharply. "She lost an eye?"

Instructor nodded. "She'll be fine. Better one eye and alive than two eyes and dead. Or worse. You read the briefing. You know what they were planning." He sighed and put a hand on Rolf's shoulder. "Remember this, but don't let it eat you up, boy. Now get out of here and don't let me see your arse for two weeks. You're not on holiday, though, that's your next assignment. Try not to fuck that up."

Rolf nodded, stood up and slowly walked out.

-ooo-

As he made tea in the little flat that he'd rented, a tiny little place in the upstairs of a house in a sleepy magical village called Satterbourne, Rolf looked at the envelope several times before summoning the courage to open it. Eventually, though, he ripped open the envelope, took out the parchment and spread it upon the table. Thankfully it wasn't anything dangerous or life-threatening, just a surveillance job. Watch the targets, verify no dark wizards or other people violated the wards, ensure that the targets remained alive and above all avoid detection. Accompany targets when they leave the property but maintain hidden surveillance. Report in every other day via the usual methods. All in all, an easy mission.

After his tea Rolf went into the bedroom and looked in the mirror. His normal chestnut brown hair, down to his shoulders, wouldn't do. He took his wand and cast several glamour charms, turning his hair black, changing his skin to an olive complexion as opposed to his normal shade and made his eyes as brown as an oak. He slipped on an unobtrusive brown robe, shouldered a battered rucksack and left by the back staircase. His landlady would ask too many questions if she saw him looking unlike Mister William Windmere, her renter.

As he walked towards the surveillance location Rolf stopped for a moment, as he couldn't remember if the alias he gave his landlady was Windmere or one of his others. He pulled out a little black notebook from his robe, licked his finger and then ran his finger down the spine of the notebook. The clasp of the notebook clicked and then Rolf flipped through the pages until he found the entry, and after a few moments he was very glad that he did look at the notebook, as the flat was rented to Mister Jonathan Slipkirk, not Windmere. This gave Rolf pause; maybe Instructor did have a point. Maybe he did need to get his head right. He would have never forgotten which alias before Bulgaria.

-ooo-

He couldn't help it; he was thinking about Bulgaria when he arrived outside of the target location. The fact that the wards would signal anyone to his presence was one reason he stopped, but the other reason was that the house was, to be honest, the oddest thing he'd ever seen in his life. It looked like nothing so much as a giant tree that had been lopped off and had a house built into the trunk that remained. Even odder than that was the fact that except for the foliage beside the house there was nothing else on the plain. No trees, no shrubs, nothing. How was he supposed to do surveillance when there was no cover?

After putting up the cowl on his robe Rolf began to walk the perimeter of the wards, verifying their circumference. He knew that it was of vital importance for him to know exactly how far the wards extended if he was to be able to ensure the targets' safety. As he followed the wards around a sound began to emerge, only faintly at first, but then stronger. The sound of running water. His pace increased slightly as he made his way eventually towards a small little stream, no wider than thirty meters, that trickled slowly around the southern edge of the property. It was while he watched a small fish swim through the stream that he realized that he was not alone.

"Hello."

Rolf looked up to see a blonde woman about his age walk towards him. The woman was on the other side of the stream, but instead of walking across the stream and then towards him on the dry ground she walked through the stream until she stood in front of him. He noticed that she was barefoot as the water rushed by her legs.

"Are you here for the fishing?" She looked at him with a pleasant smile. "Daddy says the fishing isn't as good lately because of the lack of spinkleflies."

The Invisibles training kicked in quickly for Rolf. _Target Two. Luna Lovegood, daughter of Xenophilius Lovegood, Target One._ His orders were to observe and protect, not interact. Auror training would dictate that he would quickly leave the area and avoid all further contact. His Invisibles training, though, wasn't as restrictive. _Improvise, adapt, survive and succeed_. Instructor had drilled that into his head, and that's what he planned on doing.

"Sprinkleflies?" Rolf shook his head. "I don't know about those. Yes, I'm here for the fishing." He took out his wand, transfigured a small branch into a fishing rod and swung it over his shoulder nonchalantly. "I mostly use hinkypunk hairs. Tie a few together over a hook and it usually works well enough."

Luna tilted her head to the side momentarily. "I suppose. If the hinkypunks aren't molting. They do that, you know. Molt." She sat down in the middle of the stream and let the water rise up over her stomach. "I wouldn't like to molt. One day I forgot the sunshield spell and burnt myself horribly. The skin came off a few days later and I think that is what it must be like to molt."

Rolf couldn't decide if she was having a go at him so he decided to very gently try to use his skill at legillimency. He stretched his mind out towards hers, making it as soft and ephemeral as a little cloud floating through the summer sky. When his mind touched hers he didn't feel the jarring whir of other minds, the taste in his mouth that hinted of metal. Her mind was as calm and as peaceful as anything he'd ever experienced in his life.

"That's much nicer than what Harry said." Luna smiled at him. "He said when it happened to him it was like someone stuck a quill into his ear. Yours is nothing like that."

"What?" Rolf broke off his legillimency attempt immediately. "You felt that?"

"Oh yes. It was rather pleasant, like a hug." She stood up. "But I think I like the real ones better."

Rolf took a step back on the shore and extended his hand. "Jonathan Slipkirk."

Instead of shaking his hand Luna blinked at him several times. "You real name must be embarrassing. I think Jonathan Slipkirk is fine, though."

"Bloody hell." Rolf took a step back, stumbled, and then fell down on his arse. He shook his head at her in disbelief. "Are you a seer?"

She sat down next to him on the banks of the stream and crossed her legs. "No, I don't have the gift. Daddy thought I did once but that's just because I found my Christmas presents early that year."

_Improvise, adapt, survive and succeed. _Rolf quickly recalled the briefing and lit upon a solution. If it worked it would be the out he needed; if it didn't Instructor would have his head. With a wave of his wand Rolf erased his glamour charms and sat in front of her looking as he usually did. "I apologize. So sorry about that. I don't usually do that to people I've just met, but with my family sometimes it's easier to pretend to be somebody else. I'm Rolf Scamander. My grandfather and my parents…"

"Oh!" Luna clapped her hands. "I know them! Daddy has ever so many books that they've written! Did your grandfather ever train the Fire Slugs? I know he studied them in the Brazilian rainforest."

Rolf smiled and shook his head. "No, Pop-Pop never could train them to do a thing. Mostly they just set tablecloths on fire. Now you know why I usually don't tell people my real name."

"Oh." Luna nodded seriously. "Of course. You'd never be able to answer all their questions. I wrote your grandfather about Nargles recently but I haven't heard back from him."

As his shoulders eased Rolf realized that he had been tensing up from the moment Luna had sat next to him. As his muscles relaxed he followed suit. "I'm sure he'll write back, but I'm not sure when. Pop-Pop gets busy and keeping current correspondence isn't his strong suit."

-ooo-

Rolf arrived back at his little flat later that evening, much later than he had planned. Instead of using all of his skill and training at unobtrusive surveillance he'd spent the afternoon at the Lovegood residence, drinking tea of questionable origin and talking about fantastical magical creatures with Luna and her father. Xenophilius only stayed for a part of the conversation, though, as he was in the midst of preparing the latest edition of the Quibbler to go to press. It hadn't been an entirely wasted day, though, as he'd been able to ascertain the security difficulties in the house, determine how far the wards went around the property and realized the real reason that he was on the mission. Apparently there were still former Death Eaters and those who remained loyal to Voldemort who wished nothing more than to silence Xenophilius and the Quibbler permanently.

After taking a few moments to compose himself Rolf took out a quill and parchment, wrote out his report and summoned the tiny chimney swift. Instead of owls the Invisibles used the little birds for the unobtrusiveness and ubiquity. It did make tying the message on a bit more difficult, but the Invisibles flock of chimney swifts were well trained. Once his message was on its way Rolf sat at his small kitchen table and poked a fork around his plate, pushing the pieces of the steak and kidney pie around without thinking. He was thinking, but not of his supper. Instead he was thinking of Luna Lovegood, thinking about that brief moment when his mind touched hers, how peaceful it was.

It was while the cleaning spells were busy at work when a chimney swift arrived at his window sill. After gently removing the message he sat down and closed his eyes. He knew what the response would be from Instructor; disappointment and a drumming out of the Invisibles.

_Scamander,_

_I'm glad you finally got something through that thick head of yours and finally started thinking like an Invisible. So the surveillance bit got thrown away like an empty butterbeer bottle, you did what you were supposed to do. Adapt and improvise. You made the situation work for you. Now we've got better intelligence on the Lovegood house and its protections. Try not to do it again, though. Stay out of sight if possible. _

_That's the good news. Bad news is that if anything goes wonky you get to Obliviate the Lovegoods. Word gets out that Rolf Scamander's grandson is visiting and you'll be off the mission. Take care of it._

_Intelligence says that two former DEs have been talking about Xenophlius in Dorset. We will intercept them before they can get within a dragon's fart from there, but be careful. You're an Invisible, keep acting like one. Remember Bulgaria._

_Instructor_


	2. I Am No Auror

**Chapter 2: I Am No Auror**

_April 22, 2000_

Rolf Scamander woke early, smoothed his hair back into a ponytail and walked out of the tent and into the stultifying Brazilian rainforest humidity. The air was so thick he felt that he could just stick out his tongue and drink it in. As he went about making a small campfire he looked over quickly to the other tent, their tent. So far it looked just as it did the night before; the wards were still in place around the camp which gave him a small sense of satisfaction.

As the branches began to crackle and the fire grew, Rolf thought back on everything that had brought them here. The Death Eaters had caused a bit of havoc in Dorset, had been chased by the Aurors and there were casualties amongst the Muggle population. That had put him on his guard, but three nights later when the wards triggered he knew that the time of hiding was over. Instructor had advised him to above all keep the Lovegoods safe, and their location was compromised. Even more than that, though, there was Luna.

Initially he'd found himself visiting with her as a way to pass the time, but over the last few weeks it was different. He'd listened to her after they had arrived at his grandfather's expedition headquarters as she had explained all of the things that had happened to her in the war; he'd heard her name mentioned, and there were things in the file, but hearing it first hand was quite different. When she'd become very emotional he had just reacted and pulled her close, smoothing down her hair until she quieted somewhat. It was when she was in his arms that he began to think of things that were definitely not in his instructions from Instructor. One of the rules of the Invisibles was to not get involved, and there, holding her, he realized that despite his intentions he was definitely involved.

Another rule of the Invisibles was to never reveal personal information. He'd failed miserably on that tenet. Since taking on the job and becoming a trainee he'd told nobody about, well, anything. In truth his life was very solitary; the mission, completing the mission, and training. But with Luna, things were…different. She listened, actually, truly listened. Very few people actually listened. Sure, they comprehended what you were saying, but they were usually busy crafting a response in their head even before you were finished speaking.

Not Luna.

Luna listened to him, and he could see in her eyes that she concentrated on what he said, empathized with what he went through, tried to understand. She waited until he was finished to ask her questions, not interrupting like some people. Most people. She made him feel at peace. And peace, from what he understood from the other Invisibles that he'd talked to in the small amount of time that was actually available for conversation, peace was a hard commodity to come by.

It was while Rolf was contemplating his feelings towards Luna that all hell broke loose.

-ooo-

The first thing to happen was that Rolf's empty tent burst into flames. The smoke started billowing through the dense foliage, causing Rolf to immediately run to Luna's tent. After throwing open the flap he saw her standing there, barefoot and wearing a thin nightdress that ended mid-thigh, and all he could think of was that he had to protect her at all costs.

"I'm fine. I'll wake Daddy and we'll help."

Rolf shook his head. "Stay here, I can…"

"You'll need my help. Two wands are better than one."

He nodded, and as Xenophilius pulled himself from the hammock and moved the mosquito netting out of the way the wards started shrieking. The bang and scream from the distance indicated that the wards, even if they had fallen, had been effective. The two Lovegoods and Rolf exited the tent to find Newt Scamander in a yellow nightshirt with his wand at the ready.

"Rolf…"

"I've got it, Pop-Pop. Watch the south, by the river."

As his grandfather shuffled hurriedly over to the south perimeter of where the wards used to be Rolf took a look at his surroundings, putting his plans into effect. He waved his wand over at one large tree, causing the branches to quiver. Luna and his grandfather had decided to make camp in their current location somewhat due to those trees. His grandfather said something about how they were very sturdy and good for anchoring something, but Luna said that the trees were friendly, even if they were full of Spickflickles, some sort of tree sprites.

When the five figures became visible Rolf flashed for a split-second back to that horrible night, back to the altar, back to the little squib girl's screams, and for a second he remembered what Instructor had said. . .Auror. _Stop thinking like a Goddamned Auror, boy!_ He glanced quickly over to Luna, saw her take her wand and deflect a curse, and that's when he felt an overwhelming calmness fill his body. The panic from the Bulgarian incident, the panic at knowing he had only fractions of moments to act and protect the little girl, the panic was gone. Time seemed to slow for him as he watched the five dark-robed figures move slowly through the undergrowth. He pointed his wand at the closest figure and even though his words weren't loud they were very distinct. "_Organum expulso_."

The lead figure stopped suddenly, realized that his blocking spell had done nothing, and then panicked and tried to run away but it was too late; the man's internal organs exploded inside, puffing him up as if he was one of those fish deep in the sea that magically pulled in air until it was twenty times normal size, and then it sounded as if someone set off a firecracker under a damp blanket. The net effect was that the man collapsed and then seemed to ooze down a slight rise in the undergrowth. It had all happened within seconds, but every living person had watched it, transfixed by the action. Every living person, with one exception. Rolf Scamander didn't bother to watch the man's grisly demise, he had moved on to the next figure, the closest one, a slighter figure, a figure that turned to Rolf and leveled a wand.

"The Aurors will have your badge for that!"

It was a woman's voice, Rolf registered, but it did not stay his hand. He deftly flicked her curse aside and snapped his wand in a horizontal motion. The words, once again, were not loud, but plainly heard. "I am no Auror. _Caput Scalpere_."

The woman's eyes were open wide as her head slid off her shoulders, hit the side of a rock with a wet thwack and rolled towards another of the dark-robed figures.

That was the sign for the dark figures' attempt at intimidation to fail. All pretense of trying to scare Rolf or anyone else in the camp was over, the wizarding niceties of dueling between quips and threatening comments was right out the window and the whole mess devolved into a mass of spells being shot from behind cover, killing spells among them, which took out a few of the native animals. Between the falling birds and other denizens of the trees the rain of debris from the surrounding flora seemed to come as thick and dense as a London rain.

From the right side, where Rolf knew that Xenophilius and his Grandfather were behind some cover, one of the enemy figures went down, leaving only two left unaccounted for in the trees. Only a clearing of downed foliage lay between them and the little spot where he crouched behind a rather large rock. As he looked over to Luna she smiled at him and pointed down.

"This is the first time you've held my hand, Rolf. I think it's because we're under attack and you didn't have to worry about letting me know you're an Invisible." She smiled wider as a spell went over their heads and hit a tree. "I know you're an Invisible because you said you weren't an Auror and Auror's aren't allowed to use the spells you just used. When this is over you can kiss me as much as you want."

"Thanks. I will." Rolf leaned around the side of the rock and then faced Luna. "For luck." He kissed her, pulled his hand away from her and then ran half-crouched over to a spot that he figured could give him decent cover. If he didn't get hit with too many spells, that was. Surprisingly, though, he never had to dodge a spell as he heard Luna cast multiple _bombarda_ spells to give him cover. She'd done exactly what he would have done, but without asking.

It was at that point when it hit him, as another spell destroyed the tree immediately to his right, that Rolf realized that Luna Lovegood had not only let him know that she would like him to kiss her, and not just once, but she knew that he was an Invisible. She knew! And she wanted him to kiss her. It was too much. This attack had to end quickly; he needed answers from too many people as he had a lot of questions. He pulled a leaf from the closest tree, muttered something quickly, tapped his wand on the leaf and watched the leaf fold and bend itself until it looked like a small, green little humanoid stick figure that ran through the undergrowth with surprising speed. He wasn't surprised when it returned bearing what he had hoped it would; Luna's wand. Rolf took it from the leaf-construct and watched as the spell ran out and the leaf crumbled away into a small green pulp, but Luna's wand in his hand seemed different; it was warm to his touch. It wasn't his wand, nothing had ever replicated that feeling, but it wasn't dissimilar.

Rolf stood up, ignoring the cover, ignoring his uncle's concerned shout from off to his left, ignoring what his Auror training said would be a fatal error; he ignored everything and actually smirked. With Luna's wand in his left hand he shielded and blocked spells over and over and over; it was an immediate and unconscious decision to only use Luna's wand for non-lethal spells. His wand, on the other hand, literally in his other hand…he had no objection regarding what type of spells should be cast by that wand. Fire leapt out of his wand and fell like a red-flamed net over the area covering the two enemy figures. When one of the figures rolled on the ground, fire eating away at his robe, Rolf flicked his wand at the figure, uttered a quick _Sanguis Coque_ incantation and walked away towards the remaining viable information source.

As the female figure shed her robe, unable to stop the fire, she pointed her wand at Rolf. "What'd you do to Anthony?"

_London accent, female, approximately forty years of age, right-handed, damaged foot evidenced in her balance issue, a Dark Mark visible on her bare arm. From the quaver in her voice she wasn't expecting much resistance or at least Aurors._ "Throw down your wand." A split-second went by without action so Rolf slashed his wand down with a violent motion. "_Lacero_." The witch's hand was severed at the wrist. Her wand, with her hand, fell with a wet thump to the rainforest floor. He scream began instantly but stopped as if bottled. With her good hand she felt her mouth as her skin began to knit itself together, leaving her unable to scream. Her eyes were full of pure terror as she looked at her tormentor.

Rolf shook his head. "Not optimal, but it'll do."

Luna put her hand on his shoulder. "That's very impressive, localizing a skin healing spell like that, but I don't think she can tell you anything like that. Can I have my wand back now?"

Rolf looked at Luna in surprise, as he had no idea that she had moved next to him. Instructor would not be happy if knew that. Instead of commenting on her compliment he simply handed her back her wand.

"Thank you." Luna took her wand and then went over to the woman, cast a spell and stopped the bleeding from the stump that used to end in the woman's hand. After that was completed she bent down and pried apart the fingers on the woman's severed hand, pulled out the wand and handed it to Rolf. "She might have used the wand but probably didn't want to pull it out of her old hand. Or she was afraid you'd make her blood boil."

"Thanks." Rolf put the wand in his pocket. "I need to take her in for questioning and get everybody out of here. Can you take your father Pop-Pop someplace safe? I'll contact you as soon as I can." He felt his breathing change and the world once again returned to normal speed except for his heart, which continued to beat rapidly. When he realized why he also decided that, Invisibles' directive notwithstanding, he was involved. He kissed her quickly, causing Luna to tilt her head and smile. "I want to take you up on that offer, Luna. You know, the…"

The woman captive kicked Rolf in the knee, causing him to drop to the ground, but Luna's _levicorpus_ spell had the woman high off the ground. As the woman struggled, twisting in the air, Luna went over and put her arms around Rolf's neck, clasping her hands together and pulled him close. "Remember, you're not an Auror. You don't have backup. Think about kissing me after you're done."

-ooo-

"Scamander! Front and center!"

Rolf sat in the little dormitory area, once again, and knew that he would be called to account for his actions to Instructor and Prime. This time, though, he'd protected his charges, done his job, and nobody had lost an eye. With a deep breath he got up, walked into the meeting room and stood in front of the desk. Instructor stood next to the desk while Prime was seated, a file in front of her.

"Scamander!" Instructor walked over and pointed his finger in Rolf's face. "What in the bloody hell did you think you were doing? Not only did you take them out of the country, you took them out of Auror jurisdiction, involved them in a firefight, killed four of them, burned out at least an acre of prime Brazilian rainforest, mutilated our only witness by severing her hand and if her pensieve memories are any indication you…"

"I did my job." Rolf glanced over at Prime and then turned back to Instructor. "And we have more intel than before."

"YOU GOT INVOLVED! WE DO _NOT_ GET INVOLVED!" The spittle from Instructor's mouth flew as he was centimeters from Rolf's face, but Rolf did not react. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?"

"I improvised, adapted, and survived. Just like you taught me."

With that comment Prime gave a small chuckle and motioned Instructor away from Rolf. She opened the file folder in front of her and glanced at it. "You could do much worse, you know, Scamander. Our surveillance indicates that you're very, _comfortable_ with the Lovegood girl."

"Woman. She's not a girl." Rolf stole a glance at Prime and then returned his eyes to their straight-ahead focus of absolutely nothing on the opposite wall.

Instructor walked around Rolf in a circle. "Lovely, oh, this is lov-er-ly. So what are you going to tell her when you have to break a date to do a hit job on a dark wizard, then?"

"Sorry, Luna, I can't make it. Work."

"That won't work forever." Instructor shook his head. "Best to Obliviate them both and be done with it."

"No." Rolf shook his head. "I won't."

"You'll never see us coming then, boy. You'll show up with flowers and she won't have a clue who you are."

Rolf turned his head and didn't waver. He looked directly at Instructor. "Then we have a problem. Besides, I don't have much faith in your other operatives. 'Death Eaters won't get within a dragon's fart of the Lovegoods, eh?' Right." He turned to Prime. "Are we done here? I have a date." After watching Prime nod slightly Rolf left the office, not bothering to close the door.

Prime watched Rolf leave the room and then turned to Instructor. "Well?"

"Holy shite, Prime. Have you ever seen anyone wield two wands like that? And I think the Lovegood girl's good for him. No hesitation, you saw he was when it got messy. Calm, even. You saw my report about Bulgaria. You saw what he was like out there, he didn't think, he didn't hesitate, he acted. I think he's ready now. What about you?"

"Yes." Prime nodded and closed the folder. "He knows we're not infallible now. He'll trust only himself and, I think, her. You saw how she pulled out that wand from the hand. She was with Potter in that organization, Dumbledore's Army. You've read her file, you know what she went through in the war. What do you think, do we contact her as a possible operative?"

"Nah." Instructor shook his head negatively. "Keep her off the books, at least until she and Scamander go one way or the other. They stick together it's a two-for-one package. They call it quits…then I say we contact her."

"Agreed."

-ooo-

Luna sat at the little table in Rolf's flat, looked around the small kitchen area and smiled. "What name did you use for this place?"

"Windmere. William Windmere." He shrugged.

"It isn't a bad name but I would think it would be hard remembering who to be every day. I think it is much easier just to be myself, but you can't do that, can you?"

He leaned forward and took one of her hands in his. "How in Merlin's name did you know I was an Invisible?"

"Well…you acted like an Auror but I know you aren't an Auror. Harry told Ginny you were a crap Auror because you wouldn't follow their rules. Ginny and I had lunch a long time ago and she mentioned it and I just remembered it. And I knew you were an Invisible because I saw the signs. Daddy wrote an article about the Invisibles a few years ago, you know. It wasn't very well received, but most people read The Quibbler before tea and that's when bilgepuppies are around. They keep you from comprehending hidden truths and they hate tea. That's why you should always drink tea." She looked over to the stove. "Should I start the kettle?"

"Absolutely." A chimney swift flew out of the fireplace, flitted around Rolf's head and landed on the table. Without pausing to consider if he was revealing a secret Rolf untied the little missive and unrolled it.

_Don't muck it up with the Lovegood woman. Prague in four weeks. Contact site 4. - Instructor_

Rolf rolled the little message up, set it on fire with his wand and then turned to Luna. "Have you ever been to Prague?"

"Daddy says that the Crumple-Horned Snorckacks are plentiful around there. Are we going to look for them? That could take a long time."

"I've got a meeting there in four weeks. And as for the Snorckacks? I'm sure we'll find something. I'll ask Pop-Pop." As he pulled her onto his lap for a kiss Rolf heard Instructor's voice in his head_. Improvise, adapt, survive and succeed_. Looking into Luna's wide eyes Rolf knew that he'd accomplished each and every tenet of that creed.


End file.
